What Is Appeasement Definition and Examples in Foreign Policy

Appeasement is the  foreign policy  tactic of offering specific  concessions to an aggressor  nation in order to prevent war.  An example  of appeasement  is the infamous 1938  Munich Agreement, in which Great Britain sought to avoid war with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy  by taking no action to prevent Italy’s invasion of  Ethiopia in 1935  or Germany’s annexation of Austria in 1938.  Ã‚   Key Takeaways: Appeasement Appeasement is the diplomatic tactic of offering concessions to aggressor nations in an attempt to avoid or delay war.  Appeasement is most often associated with Great Britain’s failed attempt to prevent war with Germany by offering concessions to Adolph Hitler.  While appeasement has the potential to prevent further conflict, history shows it rarely does so. Appeasement Definition  Ã‚  Ã‚   As the term itself implies, appeasement is a  diplomatic  attempt to â€Å"appease† an aggressor nation by agreeing to some of its demands.  Usually viewed as a policy of offering substantial concessions to more powerful dictatorial  totalitarian and fascist  governments, the wisdom and effectiveness  of appeasement has been a source of debate since it failed to prevent  World War II. Pros and Cons  Ã‚   In the early 1930s,  the lingering trauma of  World War I  cast appeasement in a positive light as a useful peacekeeping policy.  Indeed,  it  seemed a logical means of satisfying  the demand for  isolationism, prevalent in the U.S. until World War II.  However, since the failure of the  1938 Munich Agreement, the  cons  of appeasement have outnumbered its pros.  Ã‚   While appeasement has the potential to prevent war, history has shown it rarely does so. Similarly, while it can reduce the effects of aggression, it can encourage further, even more-devastating aggression—as per the old â€Å"Give them an inch and they’ll take a mile,† idiom.   Though appeasement might â€Å"buy time,† allowing a nation to prepare for war, it also gives aggressor nations time to grow even stronger. Finally, appeasement is often viewed as an act of cowardice by the public and taken as a sign of military weakness by the aggressor nation.  Ã‚  Ã‚   While some historians condemned appeasement for allowing Hitlers Germany to grow too powerful, others praised it for creating a â€Å"postponement† that allowed Britain to prepare for war. While it seemed a reasonable tactic  for  Britain and France,  appeasement endangered many smaller European nations in Hitler’s path.  The delays of  the  appeasement are  thought to be at least partially to blame for allowing  pre-World War II atrocities  such as the 1937  Rape of Nanking  and the  Holocaust. In retrospect, the lack of resistance from the appeasing nations enabled the rapid growth of Germany’s military machine.   Munich Agreement   Perhaps the best-known example  of appeasement took place on  September 30, 1938,  when  leaders of  Great Britain, France, and Italy  signed the  Munich Agreement  allowing  Nazi Germany to annex the German-speaking Sudetenland region of  Czechoslovakia.  German  Fà ¼hrer  Adolph Hitler  had demanded the annexation of the Sudetenland as the only alternative to war.   However, British  Conservative Party leader  Winston Churchill  opposed the agreement. Alarmed by the rapid spread of fascism across Europe, Churchill  argued that no level of diplomatic concession  would  appease Hitler’s  imperialistic  appetite.  Working to ensure Britain’s ratification of the Munich Agreement, appeasement supporter  Prime Minister  Neville Chamberlain  resorted to  ordering the British media not to report news of Hitler’s conquests. Despite growing public outcry against it, Chamberlain confidently announced that the Munich Agreement had ensured â€Å"peace in our time,† which, of course, it had not.   Japanese Invasion of Manchuria In  September 1931,  Japan, despite being  a member of the  League of Nations, invaded Manchuria in northeast China.  In response, the League  and the U.S.  asked both Japan and  China to withdraw  from Manchuria to allow for a  peaceful settlement. The  U.S.  reminded both nations of their obligation under the 1929  Kellogg–Briand Pact  to settle their differences  peacefully.  Japan, however, rejected all offers of appeasement and went on to  invade and occupy the whole  of Manchuria. In the aftermath, the League of Nations condemned  Japan, resulting in Japan’s eventual resignation from the  League. Neither the League nor the United States took any further action as Japan’s military  continued to  advance into China.  Today, many historians assert that this  lack of opposition actually  encouraged  European aggressors  to undertake similar invasions.   The  2015  Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action   Signed  on July 14, 2015, the  Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action  (JCPOA) is an agreement between  Iran and  the  permanent members of the  United Nations Security Council—China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States,  Germany, and the European Union—intended to deal with Iran’s  nuclear  development program.  Since the late 1980s Iran  had been suspected  of using its nuclear power program as a cover for developing  nuclear weapons. Under the JCPOA,  Iran agreed  to  never  develop nuclear weapons.  In return, the UN agreed to lift all other sanctions against  Iran, as long as it proved its compliance with the JCPOA.   In  January 2016, convinced that the Iranian nuclear program  had complied with  the  JCPOA, the  United States and the EU lifted  all  nuclear-related sanctions on Iran. However,  in May 2018,  President  Donald Trump, citing evidence that Iran  had  covertly  revived its nuclear weapons program, withdrew the U.S. from the  JCPOA and  reinstituted sanctions intended to prevent Iran from developing  missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Sources and Further Reference Adams, R.J.Q. (1993).  British Politics and Foreign Policy in the Age of Appeasement, 1935–1939.  Stanford University Press. ISBN: 9780804721011.  Mommsen W.J. and  Kettenacker  L. (eds).  The Fascist Challenge and the Policy of Appeasement.  London, George Allen Unwin, 1983 ISBN 0-04-940068-1.  Thomson, David (1957).  Europe Since Napoleon. Penguin Books, Limited (UK). ISBN-10: 9780140135619.  Ã‚  Holpuch, Amanda (8 May 2018).  .Donald Trump says US will no longer abide by Iran deal – as it happened  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ via  www.theguardian.com.